Design companies are very popular these days because everything is about marketing, public relations or advertising. You will find these fields everywhere, in any corner of the globe and in any given niche. This is because of the fact that everyone wants to communicate their brand in such a way that the targeted audience will choose them over their competition.
As the internet has exploded in the last several years, so did web design companies around the world. There are companies that deliver incredible work, and there are some companies that require more patience when it comes to what they can offer. It’s really all about finding the right web design company for your needs. What do you need to know before saying yes to a company?
1. What’s in it for me?
You really have to know what the company will bring when it comes to the services they offer. Is it what you need? Is the connection between quality and price fair? Can the company do more than you are offered initially? By answering these questions, you can better understand if the company is suitable for you or not.
2. What’s their portfolio?
Reputation is one of the most efficient ways to see how the company treats its clients. The perfect way to choose a web design company is to see what they’ve done in the past. In this way, you can establish if their work, their style and their vision is what you seek.
Of course, it makes all the difference in the world if you can track down some of the clients and have a talk with them to see how the company has managed their requests.
3. Custom designs or templates?
The answer to this particular question gives you an understanding of how the company works and how creative they are. The best advice here is to find a company that does everything from scratch. It’s important because using a template means being limited to a set of designs, and that is something that you don’t want for your website.
4. What about browsers?
One of the most frequent problems that people experience when it comes to websites is the fact that they don’t work with all the browsers. You need to be really professional about this and have the company develop a website that works with the most popular of browsers. You owe it to the client as there are some who might not use the popular ones, and you need to be able to satisfy almost any preference that your future client might have.
5. Will the company have ownership of the rights?
There are companies that produce designs from scratch and put their mark on the site not for marketing purposes, but for copyright. You should be the one that has ownership of the rights, and this is something that you need to negotiate with the company that delivers the service.
6. Their service stops at the design stage?
You should know that a website needs maintaining and constant care. Some firms finish their jobs after the site is running, but more professional ones offer a maintenance service on a lifetime basis. Of course, this is for a price, but it’s worth it.
7. What does the company need from you?
You see the website in a certain way, according to your creativity, vision and the company’s values. But what more does the design company need? Usually, they are requested to offer text, images and feedback at the end. Some design firms offer the possibility of handling the imaginary or copywriting if the client asks.
8. What about search engines?
In today’s world, every design company that respects itself offers search engine optimization. It’s really professional to offer the client the possibility to climb up the search engine ladder to be as high as possible. You should look for a company that does it.
9. What’s the delivery rate?
Usually, for a well-developed website, it takesabout a month to complete, but it really depends on the client and how responsive he or she is. Of course, the complexity of the website matters as well, so this should be a factor also.
10. How about security?
This is an important detail as well, because there are many companies that have suffered attacks from hackers. It’s really important to know what type of security level the website has and how it can be improved in order for the website to be safe.
These are some simple guidelines that will take you through the process of finding a design company that is able to satisfy your needs.
